I was at a dinner party with two other couples last year when the host approached me discreetly in the living room. "Can you come here?" she whispered, motioning towards the kitchen. She led me to the oven, pulled out a roasting pan filled with eight split chicken breasts whose skin were all a nice caramel-ly brown. "They're ready, right?" she asked. I always get nervous with thick chicken breasts, too, so I asked her how long they'd been in. "About an hour," she told me. I had a feeling they weren't done yet. "Can I touch one?" I asked. I poked one of them in the thickest part. It felt too soft. The rule for doneness with chicken, I told her, is that it should feel firm to the touch but not rock hard. "It needs more time." Andy walked in and I pulled him over for his opinion. Along with his tight spiral and his general kindness towards humanity, gauging meat doneness is one of his greatest qualities. He poked the chicken once, and with a conviction I envied, declared, "Five more minutes."
Four Strategies for Nervous Nellies
Four Strategies for Nervous Nellies
Four Strategies for Nervous Nellies
I was at a dinner party with two other couples last year when the host approached me discreetly in the living room. "Can you come here?" she whispered, motioning towards the kitchen. She led me to the oven, pulled out a roasting pan filled with eight split chicken breasts whose skin were all a nice caramel-ly brown. "They're ready, right?" she asked. I always get nervous with thick chicken breasts, too, so I asked her how long they'd been in. "About an hour," she told me. I had a feeling they weren't done yet. "Can I touch one?" I asked. I poked one of them in the thickest part. It felt too soft. The rule for doneness with chicken, I told her, is that it should feel firm to the touch but not rock hard. "It needs more time." Andy walked in and I pulled him over for his opinion. Along with his tight spiral and his general kindness towards humanity, gauging meat doneness is one of his greatest qualities. He poked the chicken once, and with a conviction I envied, declared, "Five more minutes."